SBCAG NewsWire -- February 2005

SBCAG Targets November 2006 for Measure D Renewal Election

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Board voted unanimously at its March 17 meeting to initiate an effort to extend Measure D targeting the November 7, 2006 general election for a countywide ballot measure.

In 1989 Santa Barbara County voters approved Measure D imposing a ½ cent local sales tax for transportation for a 20 year term. Voters recognized the importance of having a locally controlled source of funding for transportation improvements. When it expires in 2010, Measure D will have generated nearly $500 million for road repairs, highway improvements, public transit services and other transportation projects.

Local cities and the County of Santa Barbara receive 70% of Measure D revenues and use these funds primarily for road repairs and maintenance. Nearly 50% of local road maintenance funds come from Measure D.

The remaining 30% of Measure D funds have paid for the reconstruction of freeway overpasses and safety improvements on state highways including operational and safety improvements on Highways 1, 154 and 166, the reconstruction of the 101 freeway interchanges at Milpas, La Cumbre, Storke, Betteravia, Stowell and Donovan Roads. The Clean Air Express and Coastal Express regional commuter buses and paratransit services for seniors and the disabled also depend upon Measure D funds.

Jim Kemp, SBCAG Executive Director commented, “Measure D is critical to local transportation infrastructure funding. Sacramento has raided state transportation funds three years in a row to plug the state’s general fund budget holes. Congress is nearly two years late in passing a new federal transportation bill. The only reliable source of revenue to pay for local transportation needs is Measure D.”

Santa Barbara County is not alone in recognizing the importance of having a local revenue source for transportation. Around the state, 19 counties representing more than 85% of the state’s population have adopted local transportation sales tax programs. Last November, 7 of 10 county transportation sales tax measures in California gained the necessary 2/3rds voter approval. Five of these counties renewed existing sales tax programs that, like Measure D, are nearing expiration.

SBCAG Board Chairman and Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees stated, “Measure D is a success story. Over the past fifteen years, Measure D funds have dramatically improved road quality throughout Santa Barbara County. The progress we’ve made would quickly be lost if Measure D funds sunset. In 1989 local voters made a wise choice to pass Measure D, next year we’ll be asking them to make the same winning investment again in protecting local streets and roads.”

Local CMAQ Funds in Jeopardy

Unless Congress makes changes in the current version of TEA 21, Santa Barbara County may soon see its last Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) dollars.

CMAQ funds have supported a wide range of innovative transportation projects in Santa Barbara County including the Clean Air Express, Coastal Express and MTD’s new Valley Express commuter bus services. Combined, these systems transport hundreds of commuters daily, taking cars off the road, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. CMAQ funds have also been used locally to build new regional bikeways and SBCAG’s Traffic Solutions program depends upon CMAQ funds to support it commuter services, including carpool matching and the guaranteed ride home programs.

CMAQ funds are provided for areas that do not meet federal air quality standards and must be used for projects that reduce emissions from vehicles. Santa Barbara County’s air quality has shown steady improvement and the region is now in attainment of new federal ozone standards that become effective later this year. The improved air quality, unfortunately, means that under current federal rules, Santa Barbara County will no longer qualify for CMAQ funding. This results in a loss of about $3.0 million annually for local transportation projects.

Last year, Congress again was unable to pass legislation reauthorizing TEA 21, but prospects for approval this year look better. Unless Congress agrees to create a transition funding period for regions like Santa Barbara County that have recently met federal air pollution standards, this year’s $2.5 million in CMAQ funds will be our last. The SBCAG board will be considering approval of projects to be completed using the remaining CMAQ funds at its April meeting.

Greyhound Cuts Local Bus Service

Greyhound buses will no longer stop in Carpinteria, Buellton, Lompoc, Orcutt or Vandenberg Air Force Base after April 3, 2005. According to a Los Angeles Business Times article, the service cuts are part of a major western U.S. service realignment affecting 64 locations in California and 150 cities in the southwest.

Greyhound is the only operator of a regularly scheduled nationwide intercity bus service. To fill the new gap in service, SBCAG is considering state legislation that would open Amtrak bus-rail service to non-rail passengers. Currently, Amtrak passengers are permitted to use Amtrak intercity bus service only if they purchase a ticket for connecting train service.

This restriction is included in state law to protect private intercity bus service operators like Greyhound from competition from publicly subsidized bus service like Amtrak. Since some of the communities that will be impacted by the loss of Greyhound service are served by Amtrak bus-rail connections, opening up this service could help offset the loss of Greyhound service.

The SBCAG board expressed concern about the reduced service and authorized its chairman, Lompoc Mayor Dick DeWees to send a letter to Greyhound Chairman and CEO Stephen Gorman requesting an explanation for the elimination of the stops in Santa Barbara County and reconsideration of the decision.

Regional Commuter Buses Rely on

Measure D Funds

The two most successful commuter bus services in the region, the Clean Air Express and the Coastal Express both rely on regional Measure D funds to operate.

The Clean Air Express Commuter Bus Service runs 10 bus routes from Lompoc and Santa Maria to Goleta and Santa Barbara. Since 1992, the Clean Air Express has met a growing demand from north county commuters who work in the south coast. Last year, the Clean Air Express carried 113,000 passengers and removed 6.3 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) from our highways. The Clean Air Express currently generates the highest farebox recovery ratio (63%) and requires the second lowest subsidy per passenger ($2.63 per passenger) among all public transit providers in the County.

Similarly, the Coastal Express bus service that connects Ventura and Santa Barbara County has enjoyed dramatic increases in ridership since its inception. The Coastal Express offers 26 weekday trips between Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Nearly three quarters of weekday riders are commuting to work and another large percentage are students traveling to school. The Coastal Express also operates on weekends when most riders are traveling to shop.

Virtually all public transit systems require annual operating subsidies. Commuter bus riders generally pay a larger share of operating costs than local bus riders however, subsidies are still necessary to operate the services.

Unfortunately, SBCAG does not have access to traditional sources of transit funding for its commuter bus services. CMAQ funds have been used to pay for start-up costs and service expansion efforts in the past, but CMAQ funds will no longer be available to Santa Barbara County in the near future. Historically, the Clean Air Express program relied on a combination of farebox revenue and APCD operating subsidies. APCD funds can no longer be relied upon as the service has evolved from an air quality demonstration project to a mature regional commuter bus system.

To fill the ongoing funding shortfall for both the Clean Air Express and the Coastal Express, the SBCAG Board has turned to Measure D, the local ½ cent sales tax for transportation. Measure D funds are flexible and the use of these transportation funds is locally controlled unlike State and gas tax revenues which have limited uses.

Jim Kemp, Executive Director of SBCAG noted, “Without the Clean Air Express and Coastal Express commuter bus services, many more cars would be clogging the 101 freeway. Using Measure D funds to keep these services in operation is a smart investment in traffic reduction. Commuters want choices and the growing demand for these commuter bus routes shows how much commuters value these options.”

Team Bike Challenge: Form a Team, Hop on Your Bike and Win!

Santa Barbra County residents will be encouraged to “Bike, Don’t Drive” this May as part of Traffic Solutions' 2005 Team Bike Challenge. The friendly competition will run for the entire month of May with five member teams making as many trips possible by bike instead of car. Team members will keep a web-based tally of each day they ride. At the end of the month, the team with the highest number of ride days wins the grand prize. All team members win prizes once they reach certain point thresholds, including free movie passes, colorful Team Bike Challenge t-shirts and gift certificates from iTunes or participating bike shops in Santa Barbara County. Limited supplies of bike lockers, personal lockers or bike racks will also be available for high performing teams that want better bicycle facilities at their workplace. Grand prize winners will choose from fun prizes ranging from whale watching trips and chartered wine tours to $500 ($100 each) gift certificates to bike shops.

Any utilitarian round-trip taken by bike counts for the Team Bike Challenge. Although we encourage you to take as many bike trips daily as you can, only one round trip a day counts for this contest. This of course includes your commute to work as well as trips you take at lunch, on the weekend and after work (such as taking the kids to the park or to soccer practice). Also included are bike trips to the gym, to the movies or to meet up with your friends for a recreation ride (if you ride to the meet-up place instead of drive).

Forming a team is easy—teams are made up of five people, two of whom must be infrequent riders. Register your team via our website and choose a team captain (team captains will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate at participating bike shops!). An infrequent rider is anyone who rode his bike for utilitarian trips less than 2 times a month (on average) in 2004. An example of an infrequent rider is someone who rides to work on Bike to Work Day, but drives most of the rest of the year. Another example would be someone who can't commute by bike because of distance or child care needs, but could ride to the grocery store or to the park with the kids.

Infrequent Rider Bonuses! Although each team is required to have two "infrequent riders", it is to your team's advantage to have as many new commuters as possible because for every trip an infrequent rider takes, he gets DOUBLE POINTS for his team! Have you always wanted to find a fun, supportive way to encourage your CEO or top manager to try bike commuting? Now is your chance! Every CEO/VP/Director, elected official, or journalist on a team will earn TRIPLE POINTS for every trip made by bike.

Sign up today for Traffic Solutions’ Team Bike Challenge. After registering, you and your team members will be able to log on to a personalized calendar where you can track your ride days in May. Every week, our web site will provide teams with a status report so you can find out how your team is doing compared to the other teams in the contest.

Traffic Solutions On-line Carpool Matchlist Launches 4/13/05

Traffic Solutions is pleased to announce the launch of a brand new web-based Carpool Matchlist Service for commuters in our region. The new service will be officially released on Wednesday, April 13. It is free, easy to use, secure, and will give you a list of people with similar commutes instantly so you can start carpooling right away. From the list, you’re one click away from sending an email to start a carpool and stop pumping all that money into your gas tank.

Starting Wednesday, the first 100 people to activate their account will receive a $10 gas card! Simply visit the Traffic Solutions website and click on “Win a $10 gas card.” If you are already in our carpool program, you will be notified via email or mail with your log in information for our new system.

Save Money: Carpooling can cut in HALF the gasoline and maintenance costs of your commute. Calculate how much you’re spending now driving to work.

Save Time: Carpooling can reduce parking hassles and can be more flexible than vanpooling or using a local or regional bus service. Carpoolers often get preferential parking spaces.

Prevent Pollution: Carpooling reduces the emission of harmful pollutants and dependence on petroleum resources.

Still Unconvinced? If you feel uncomfortable taking the first step in setting up a carpool, call us at Traffic Solutions--963-SAVE. We'll answer your questions and ease your fears. We'll call potential carpool partners for you and make sure they are still interested. We can even tell them to expect a call or email from you.

There is a part-time vacancy on a vanpool commuting between Ventura and the Cottage Hospital area of